Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hardware requirements for PartMaster?

Dolphin CAD/CAM is designed to work on PC’s running Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8. PartMaster V12, 13, 14 and later will only run Windows 7 , 8 and 10.

The PC may be a laptop or a desktop machine. ModuleWorks Simulation will only operate on Windows 7 or better. Microsoft has discontinued support on Windows XP and older. The machine must conform to the following general specification.

The PC must have at least 100MB free hard disk space.

The PC must have a serial RS232 port if it is required to send programs to a machine tool that is fitted with a RS232 port.

The PC must have at least 128MB RAM fitted.

The PC’s graphics must be capable of displaying at least 800 x 600 resolution; it is recommended that it be capable of displaying 1024 x 768 resolution.

A Microsoft mouse or other compatible pointing device.

The software is protected from unauthorized duplication.

Running on a MAC under Windows parallel is not supported – however many customers use it flawlessly.

If you are unsure about any of the about you should contact your PC supplier.

If I install a new upgrade, will it erase all my old files I created in the previous version?

Installing an upgrade will not remove data files from the previous version. It is still strongly recommended to backup all files since we never know when a computer / hardware may crash.

My DXF files will not open. Why?

When importing DXF files, use File > Import > Drawing The drawing should appear automatically, one thing to bear in mind. PartMaster CAD won’t import NURBS curves. To check if these are being created in Illustrator in CAD goto View > Notes and see what it reports. If it reports NURBS then you will have to either convert them to Lines & Arcs before exporting or choose export as Release 12 DXF, this should output Lines and Arcs.

Why is it best to import my dxf into Partmaster CAD instead of Partmaster CAM?

It allows you to create Contours where you choose the start point and direction You can set your own XY zero datum point, irrespective of where the DXF file has established Zero. The CAD routine of creating contours has a “heal” function that will attempt to close or trim any gaps that might be found. You can create contours of selected parts of the geometry – many DXF files contain info that you don’t need to cut.

Is there a way to “save” the tool set up? Is there a way to “load” the tool set up?

Yes, there are a couple of options:

In the Setup menu you have “Load Setup” and “Save Setup”, these can be used to save the current machine setup (Tool change, Safe position etc) plus the current tooling to a .cfg file. When starting a new job simply select “Load Setup” and you have your tools and machine setup done for you.

Alternately from the View menu, select Preferences. Open the “Options” tab. Here you can select automatic saving and load toolfiles and machine setups.

How do I change units from Metric to Imperial?

From the main screen menu on the top File Toolbar select ‘View’, and from the options listed Select ‘Properties’. This displays a dialogue on screen, select the ‘Page Setup’ tab, and select required units. Alternately from the View menu, select Preferences. Open the “Options” tab. Here you can select automatic saving and load toolfiles and machine setups.